Yale-Harvard Game, New Haven, Connecticut 1977

Larry Fink shot this image, Yale-Harvard Game, in New Haven, Connecticut using photography. The image is heavy with a dark, almost monochromatic palette; a couple of men are caught in an outdoor moment. They're at a tailgate, or maybe just enjoying an outdoor drink. You get the feeling that this is a moment captured by chance, in passing; it might just be one image of hundreds. I get this sense of observation from the artist, from the image’s seeming authenticity. I wonder what Fink was thinking when he lifted the camera. Was he making some kind of social commentary? Capturing a portrait of American life? It makes me think about Diane Arbus and her commitment to photographing the margins. Ultimately, Fink seems to say that the everyday contains the extraordinary. It’s a reminder of what it means to be human, with all our quirks and contradictions. It's a scene that manages to be both intimate and expansive.